Melanie Friend The Home Front An Impressions Gallery Touring Exhibition Curated by Pippa Oldfield
The Home Front Melanie Friend From the distant silhouette of a Lancaster bomber glimpsed over a British seaside resort, to the hidden world of global arms trade fairs, The Home Front explores links between militarism, marketing and entertainment. The Home Front is a set of three related photographic series that together explore the civilian experience of war, with a particular focus on public air shows that take place at Royal Air Force bases, and in the skies above seaside resorts. The first series depicts expansive beachscapes that are temporarily militarised by the fleeting roar of fighter jets, whilst children and holidaymakers look up from below. Nostalgia for the Second World War is evoked by the display of warbirds such as the Lancaster Bomber, whilst contemporary jets such as the Tornado, recently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, are also showcased. The second series reveals the on-ground attractions of air shows. Frequently billed as a fun day out for the family, Friend captures the humour and unease in scenes of visitors taking tank rides, handling weapons, or trying on military uniforms. These air shows also offer opportunities for military recruitment and the commemoration of past conflicts. In the third series, Friend offers a rare glimpse into the environments of international arms trade fairs, usually offlimits to the general public. Her photographs depict how military technology and services are marketed and sold, from the latest drone aircraft and gold-plated automatic weapons, through to special effects for simulated battle wounds. Friend says, there is a clear disconnect between the enjoyment of war technologies as leisure and entertainment, and the actual effect of weapons. I m interested in examining our complicity as civilians with the wars our government undertakes, and uncovering how war is normalised. All images Melanie Friend
Exhibition Images Wing Walkers, Lowestoft Air Show, Suffolk, 12 August 2010 Hawker Hunter fighter, Southport Air Show, Merseyside, 24 July 2011 Living History group reenactors watch display by Hawk T1 military trainers (Red Arrows), RAF Waddington International Air Show, Lincolnshire, 2July 2011 Abingdon air show tank rides, Oxfordshire, UK May 2009 MBDA Missiles display stand, Le Bourget, Paris air show, 15 June 2009 Pakistan Ordnance Factory Stand at DSEI, London, September 2011
Installation Images Images Colin Davison
Exhibition Content Artworks Colour photographs, unglazed, drymounted on aluminium. Installed using split battens. 7@ 20x24 7 @ 24x30 20 @ 32x40 2 @ 40x50 Technical and installation Technical advice and touring handbook supplied. Venue to provide their own technician. Venue to provide a monitor with built-in sound and DVD player to present the interpretation film interview. Space required Approximately 50-70 linear metres. Impressions will provide curatorial assistance with edit and layout to suit your space and context. Interpretation and education Text supplied for venue to produce A4 information sheet including large print version. Text for introduction panel supplied as InDesign file (venue to adapt to produce own vinyl wall lettering). Laminated exhibition guides. Artist information folder. DVD film interview with Melanie Friend, 6 minutes. Suggested selection of books for visitors reading table (venue to arrange with own library). Support from Impressions Learning Manager to help plan related activities. Press and marketing Text supplied for press release for venue to adapt to your own context. Six hi-res press images supplied as jpgs Publication sales The Home Front, a full colour hardback publication with introduction by Hilary Roberts, Head Curator of Photography at the Imperial War Museum and essay by Pippa Oldfield, Curator. Published by Dewi Lewis Publishing in association with Impressions Gallery. RRP 25. Copies available on sale or return at 33% discount via Impressions Gallery. Transport and insurance Hiring venues are responsible for two-way transport and for insurance in transit and in situ; replacement value 40,000. Hire fee Please contact us for details. Credits A touring exhibition commissioned by Impressions Gallery, curated by Pippa Oldfield. Supported by University of Sussex, Spectrum Photographic and Metro Imaging.
Melanie Friend Melanie Friend has exhibited at international museums and galleries including Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, Toronto; Belfast Exposed Photography, Belfast; Hasselblad Centre, Sweden; and Houston Center for Photography, USA. Previous books and exhibitions include Homes and Gardens: Documenting the Invisible (1996), No Place Like Home: Echoes from Kosovo (2001), and Border Country (2007). Her work is held in the public collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London. Friend is currently Senior Lecturer (Photography) at the University of Sussex, UK. www.melaniefriend.com Pippa Oldfield Pippa Oldfield is Head of Programme at Impressions Gallery, Bradford. She curated Bringing the War Home: Photographic Responses to Conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan (2010), and co-curated Once More, With Feeling: Recent Photography From Colombia (2007). Both were accompanied by publications and toured nationally. She is a Doctoral Fellow at Durham University, undertaking research into women, war and photography in the Americas. Impressions Gallery Established in 1972 in York, Impressions was one of the first specialist photography galleries in Europe. Now based in Bradford, we are widely considered a leading international exhibition space for photography. We support and promote innovative and creative work that extends the boundaries of photographic practice. Contact Impressions Gallery, Centenary Square Bradford, BD1 1SD telephone: 01274 737843 email: touring@impressions-gallery.com